The Nets will move forward today, is Howard to Brooklyn a good move for the league?

Image from bleacherreport.com

Dwight Howard has consumed the news for quite some time now, but is Howard going to the Nets really a good thing? When the lockout was in full effect before this season started, one of the many problems to be resolved was competitive equality. Owners were worried that big market teams would always have the advantage because they can offer more money than most other teams (such as the Lakers, Knicks, Miami) to big time players. Such was the reason that a hard salary cap will kick in with the new collective Bargaining agreement in a few seasons. A Hard salary cap means that teams who go over the allowed spending limit, will have to pay luxury tax. This will allow small market teams better chance at superstar players.
But until the new hard cap kicks in, we are still facing the same issue, many general managers around the league do not want to see another quote on  quote "super team" formed. whether the Nets can be considered a super team if they acquire Howard is up to debate. However,  acquiring Howard would definitely portray the Nets as a another super team so lets think of Brooklyn as such. This would not be good for the league for a number of reasons. First, if the Nets acquire Howard it will continue the trend that  Lebron James started. since Lebron's "decision" every team wants to bring together a bunch of superstars, so Howard would definitely convert a trend into regularity. Second, that leads to lack of competitiveness around the league, if there's only 4 great teams and 26 mediocre teams, what will be the point of watching basketball when you already know what the conference championships will look like?
Now you can argue that it wont matter, look at the Oklahoma City Thunder for example. They created a championship team purely out of the draft and some smart low key trades. But it takes luck to be able to do that, the Thunder had the benefit of drafting a once in a generation superstar in Kevin Durant and happened to be bad enough to get other high picks in the draft while Durant developed. They also happened to assert correctly in their picks of Harden and Westbrook. So to do what OKC did it takes a lot of luck and picks at the right time. Thats why Howard to the Nets isn't a great move for the league. The Heat brought the league a lot of revenue and fame with their decision to come together because they did something that had never been done before, in addition it doesn't hurt that one of the players was Lebron James, one of the most polarizing players in all of major sports. whether you hate him or love him, everybody wanted to see if the Heat would fail or succeed. If Howard, goes to the Nets it will not generate the same buzz because it wouldn't be the first time it was done, and because Deron Williams and Dwight Howard aren't as popular as Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.
Even Howard to the lakers would be better for the league. The lakers wouldn't be a "Super" team, and everybody outside of Lakerland should know that. Kobe will turn 34 this august and he's in the twilight of his brilliant career. Steve Nash also happens to be 38, so they will be a very good team, but by no standards a "super" team.
Are Super teams good or bad for the league? If so what do you think would be a good solution or method to deal with them?
-Restricted free agent Linn says he was upset at the Knicks for not making the first move
-Heat introduce Allen and Lewis as they sign contract today
-Lakers will introduce Nash today
-Nets have added Stackhouse and are moving today to sign Lopez either to sign and trade him, or sign him to make him part of Brooklyn's core group for the future
-Hibbert will return to Indiana after they match Portland offer
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If you cant beat em join em, Ray Allen picks Heat over Celtics

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Ray Allen has agreed to leave the Boston Celtics and join rival and defending champion Miami Heat. The Heat will give Allen their Mid level exception that will pay Allen roughly 9.5 Million over three years.  Allen is leaving more money on the table as the Celtics were willing to give Allen a 2 year 12 million deal. Thus it ends the era of the "Big Three" in Boston, many believed that Allen simply wouldn't bring himself to "betray" Pierce and Garnett and join the Heat. However, it wasnt as simple as  not wanting to make feel former teammates and friends bad.
First, Allen went through a year of scrutiny to say the least. He played during this year's postseason prolonging an Ankle surgery that was troubling him to the point that he was missing free throws. Second, he spent most of the first half of the season worrying about rumors that Celtics general manager Danny Ainge would trade him. To top it all off, he was stripped of his starting spot for Avery Bradley. It has long been established that should Allen had signed back with Boston, he would continue to come off the bench.
So why leave to the Heat? Thats simple, the defending champion at this point are a better championship contender than the aging Boston Celtics, that is first and foremost above everything else.  The Heat were favored this year before the season started, and no doubt will be the favorites this upcoming season considering they just won the whole thing.  Allen and everybody outside of Celtics nation knows that the Heat are the top dog in the Eastern Conference. In addition the Heat were willing to give Allen a third year, something Boston did not. And as a far of the notion of not starting, what would insult you more? coming off the bench for a team that you helped win a championship for a player who is not better than you? Or come off the bench for the Defending Champion and coming off the bench behind the a superstar, and the best shooting guard in the league in Dwyane Wade? (pick your poison between him or Kobe, we like Wade due to Age Kobe isn't 27 anymore)
         Ray Allen knows he will be out there come crunch time in the 4th quarter playing for the Heat. It Wont be a problem for the Heat, who played this year with so many different lineups it was like playing spin roulette in a casino. Does a lineup of Allen, Wade, lebron, Bosh, and Haslem seem so far fetched off? Not at all considering that they spent a good portion of the playoffs with Shane Battier guarding David West and Brandon Bass. The Celtics also knew that Allen and star PG Rajon Rondo were having a degenerating relationship. Instead of providing Allen with reasons to return (or try to mask coming off the bench with a bigger picture), they went out and signed Jason Terry one of the best 6th man of the last decade.
So how much better does this make the Heat? Well they now have a considerable upgrade over Mike Miller, and opens up the floor so much more for Wade and Lebron. The Heat's bench was never really good to begin with, it was one of their weaknesses alongside their lack of size. Because coach Spoelstra had no options, Lebron and Wade ended up playing Heavy minutes in the playoffs, Allen instantly upgrades their bench exponentially. More so though, it will be what he can do when playing alongside Miami's big 3 that will be crucial on their path for the Heat's third championship
-Miami will also meet with free agents Rashard Lewis and Marcus Camby this weekend
-Brandon Roy makes return as he agrees signs 2 year 10 Million deal with the Wolves
-Knicks say they will Match any Linn offer up to 1 billion dollars

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Eastern conference challenges for the defending champs next year?

Over the next two days, we will analyze who could challenge the Heat and Thunder for a trip to the NBA Finals. Today we will talk about the Eastern Conference. The Heat no doubt will be heavily favorite to repeat as champs and definitely to represent the eastern conference. Their main competition since the formation of the big 3 have been the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls and both have heavy question marks as the off season begins.

The Chicago Bulls spent all of the shortened season dealing with nagging injuries to their backcourt and particularly their superstar Derrick Rose. They still survived all the setbacks to finish with the best record in the eastern conference for the second year in a row. However,  Rose tore his ACL in that unfortunate first round series against the Philadelphia seventy Sixers and will likely be out until January. This obviously puts a very big question mark on the bulls chances to challenge the Heat without their Superstar guard. Even before rose went out with the injury, it didnt seem like the bulls had  played enough games together to challenge past the Boston Celtics. Their free agents for this summer are Omer Asik (restricted), Mike James, John Lucas and Scalabrine A.K.A the white Mamba (all unrestricted).

Obviously none of these players will be able to fill in the huge gap that Rose will leave and Cj Watson will be the starting PG once the season starts. By the time Rose gets back on the court, it may be too late to really make a run at the conference championship and challenge the Heat.

Then there's the crafty and aging Boston Celtics (although we seem to say this every year). The celtics gave the Heat everything they could handle this year in a tough 7 game series that saw Rondo score 44, and Lebron 45. The Celtics may have seen the last run for this group. They have 9 players who are unrestricted free agents, the two biggest free agents being Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Most certainly one of the two will not be back and it figures to be Allen who has ankle surgery to go through this summer.

Even with Garnett back, how much longer can he play at a high level with 17 years under his belt? in addition Brandon Bass will test the free agency waters and figures to get a lot of interest from other teams as will Pietrus and Jeff Green. At this point its safe to say that the celtics will not be a threat to the Heat. 

The Indiana Pacers on the other hand are the one team who seem to be back next year at full force with another year under their belt, they are young have depth and the Heat's most glaring hole, size. They have to lock up Roy Hibbert and George Hill who are restricted free agents but that wont seem to be a problem. Could they possibly beat the Defending champs in a 7 game series? Probably not specially when the top 2 players are on the Heat, but no doubt they will be the ones i believe who will make it to the Eastern Conference Finals with the Heat.

The Magic who will not have Stan Van Gundy anymore as coach, are looking at a long road to convincing Howard to sign back. And Atlanta will continue to be a 4 seed who will regret giving Joe Johnson a max contract for years to come. 

In the end, The Heat will be back in the NBA finals whether people like it or not, the Eastern conference does not have enough to challenge the defending champs. Barring injuries, they will cruise along the first three rounds of the 2013 playoffs.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the entry on the western Conference

The Heat capture second championship, as The king is Crowned

Picture from foundationcrossfit.com

When all was said and done, one Lebron James had his first NBA championship, Dwyane Wade had his second and the Miami Heat delivered on that promise made almost two years ago. The Oklahoma City Thunder have nothing to be ashamed of, they played 4 competitive games. But on the 5th game, they looked like a team who simply wanted to get it over with and begin the coronation of the king. After last night, there should be no doubt that Lebron James is the best player on the planet, he closed the Thunder out with a triple double (26 11 13) and remained poised throughout a game that was a blowout.
On this night the Heat showed that they were more than their big 3, Mike Miller who hadn't hit a 3 all series hit SEVEN threes (yes not a typo) on what seemed to be spare parts collected from a garbage disposal.  The Heat had 4 players scoring at least 20 points and shot a whooping 53.8% from the three point line.
Ultimately though, this night will be remembered for the crowning of a king and perhaps a beginning of a dynasty. James is the most polarizing figure in sports and has been since "The Decision". He did not cry, and it seemed it didn't hit him until well after he was out the game. Lebron has been the best player now for a number of years, opinions may vary. But he has 3 out of the last 4 MVP's, monster numbers every year, All NBA first team and all All NBA defensive team, he can play all 5 positions and defend them all with success as well. His one blemish was the lack of a championship he so desperately wanted.
Whether you like him, or hate him, you cannot deny the fact that you are looking at an all time great, yes he handled his "decision" incorrectly, but we are all humans, and in the end he got what he left for, a championship ring. For one night, we all must all stop and acknowledge the greatness that is James, no more "ringless" jokes. For one night no more about his lack of what Skyp Bayless calls the "clutch gene". He is now an NBA champion and a finals MVP, adding more hardware to an already filled trophy case.
How can we not talk though about The Heat's greatest player of all time Dwyane Wade. Yes Lebron is the best player on the team, but do not undervalue Wade who now has 2 championships under his belt. And who without him Lebron would never be in Miami. Wade has willingly given the reigns of the team to James when he told him halfway through the season: "Dont worry about me", a superstar player who understands that for his team to win championships sacrifices must be made. Wade played this whole postseason with a knee injury that will most likely keep him out of the olympics and with renewed family problems with his ex wife.
Wade, who is without a doubt an All time great and a first ballot hall of famer when he retires, now passes into even greater status with multiple championships, perhaps already securing what many  already believe as the third best shooting guard in the history of the game behind Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant. He has given up the ball to Lebron when he is without a doubt still capable of carrying a team, but on this night he secures his second ring, something he says he will appreciate and enjoy much more than his first.
Finally and definitely not least, Oklahoma should not feel ashamed. In my opinion they will be back, it seemed like the lost will just give them more motivation to return hungrier than ever. It hurts to be so close and fail, but now the experience that the Heat had from last year's lost to the Mavericks, the Thunder will have coming into next season. They simply ran into a team that wanted it more, or perhaps in the case of Lebron.... NEEDED it more

Heat take a 2-1 series lead after an ugly game 3

         As game 4 fast approaches, the Thunder and Heat stand on two different grounds. The Heat were here last year, up 2-1, and heavily favored over the Dallas Mavericks. A sensitive topic when speaking to anybody on the Heat roster and a lingering shadow for Lebron James. Lebron who had a very disappointing 2011 NBA finals has said that he did not make game changing plays as his team was accustomed of him doing, and vowed to change that this time and so far has delivered. Dwyane Wade, after a rocky first game to these finals, has had two great games (25 points 7 assists and 7 rebounds in the game 3 victory), his energy on both sides of the ball has been great, and he continues to be the designated offense initiator down the stretch.  While Bosh continues his dominance of the boards and providing enough offense by picking his spots. We also cannot undermine the HUGE contributions of Shane Battier who continues to shoot lights out for the Heat.

photo from bettor.com

         The Oklahoma City Thunder, managed to not fall behind to begin the game (although they started off trailing 10-4 and turning the ball over several times) and Durant despite being guarded a lot more by Lebron James, continues to be unstoppable. The Thunder opened up a 10 point lead midway through the third but Durant picked up his fourth foul after a Dwyane Wade pump fake that seemed to have little or no contact. Brooks also decided to sit Westbrook, which allowed the Heat to go on a run and take the lead back. Durant for the second straight game found himself in foul trouble and the superstar has said he´s been frustrated with the issue (ironically Paul Pierce found himself in the same dilemma last series). The Thunder have outscored the Heat 286 to 285 so far and still trail the series 2 games to 1. The thunder gave the game away when Durant sat out in the third quarter and Brooks inexplicably sat Westbrook out as well. Another factor to consider is free throw shooting, The heat went an impressive 31-35 from the line while Oklahoma went 15-24.
           The problem with Oklahoma is that they live and die by the jumpshot, and the lack of assists on their points. Okc is essentially an isolation team, their points come off isolation plays and the most pick and roll basketball you see is when James Harden is on the floor. On a night in which both teams played abismal, the Heat escaped because of their free throw shooting, and because they managed to contain Durant from midway through the third quarter all the way to the end. If Oklahoma is making their jumpshots, they are practically unbeatable, However, last night they shot 4-18 from the three point line and Durant had an abysmal 4th quarter. The Heat look poised to take this championship, but a few plays there and a few calls here, and Oklahoma could have easily been up 2-1. After all, the home team has only won all three games of the 2-3-2 format just twice, so there´s no reason to panic if your Oklahoma, the last team to win all three home games it? The Miami Heat in 2006

A series of Storylines will define game 3 of the 2012 NBA FINALS

Image from smtdaily.com

         The Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat will continue tonight what seems to be shaping up as a classic NBA Finals. In Game 1, the Thunder erased an early deficit and rallied behind Durant´s monster 4th quarter. Game 2, Miami once again jumped out to an early lead and the Thunder fell short of another monster comeback at the end.  Several storylines have developed, and will continue to be watched tonight. Russell Westbrook, after being severely criticized after his game 2 performance has stated that he will not alter his play despite the criticism. Westbrook will be the center of attention tonight, as everybody closely watches the amount of shots westbrook takes as well as the shot selections from the Thunder´s point guard.
         How Westbrook comes out to start the game is crucial, as Oklahoma has faced double digit deficits at the beginning of both games 1 and 2. The Heat know Oklahoma´s tendency to start out slow, and Oklahoma will not have the benefit of their home crowd for the next three games. Miami will no doubt play much better at home, if Oklahoma continues to start out slow, this series wont last as long as much people expect. On the flip side, after a bounce back game 2, it is important to keep an eye on Dwyane Wade, as he continues to battle a mysterious Knee injury. Wade (just like Oklahoma) continues his first half struggles and looks to provide another strong game to help out Lebron. With Bosh now in the starting lineup, Wade no doubt benefitted from Bosh´s floor spacing, and knee injury or not, will look to continue to attack Oklahoma´s defense.
          Tonight, for the first time in a long time, nobody will ask Spoelstra what his starting lineup will be, with bosh back in his comfort zone in the starting lineup, and Battier playing the best basketball of his postseason there will definitely be no change tonight. Bosh, who is well rested in part because of his injury seems to have embraced his role as the Heat´s center after his strong performance on the boards with 15 rebounds (a much needed effort against OKC´s strong frontcourt) in game 2. While the big 3 for Miami played like the big 3, we cannot undermine Harden´s strong 21 points on only 11 shots. Harden obviously gives the Oklahoma bench an advantage now that bosh has rejoined the starting lineup, look for harden to be much more aggressive tonight and take well over 11 shots.
            Of course all eyes will no doubt be on Lebron James and Kevin Durant, after gaining the best of lebron with his monster game 1 fourth quarter, Lebron escaped game 2 with a controversial ending in which many believe James fouled Durant on the last play of the game. However, the game was not decided on this play, it was decided on the 18-2 deficit that the thunder fell in. Foul or not, the Heat are lucky because Durant missed a shot he makes 9 out of 10 times. Just like a foul could have been called on Lebron at that moment, Durant´s six and final foul could have been called earlier when Battier was called for a blocking foul on Durant. Tonight expect spoelstra to do much of the same, and split the duties of guarding Durant between Battier and Lebron. Most would like to see Lebron on Durant the entire game, (Durant asked to guard Lebron before the series began) but lebron is already being asked to do so much, that it is not convenient for Spoesltra to leave James on Durant the whole game. Consider the worries of Heat faithful that say Lebron is playing too many minutes another factor that will stop Spoesltra from leaving Lebron on Durant for 48 minutes.
            The game will be decided in the first and third quarter, if OKC gets out to another slow start, expect the heat to leave tonight with a 2-1 series lead, the third quarter will also be crucial, but OKC will not be at home tonight, if they fall behind, they will stay behind. For the Heat, Lebron James must continue his strong play and hope that Dwyane Wade provides the Dominant 1-2 punch they need, and rebound the ball well. The heat kept Oklahoma out of their transition game in the last contest, something that hadnt been done to OKC this entire postseason. One way or another, the storylines leading up to tonight´s game will give way to an epic game 3.

Heat escape back to South Beach with a split

Russell Westbrook guarded by D.Wade
Image source: observadorglobal.com

            The Miami Heat head back to South beach humming, at least for a night as they used an incredible start to game 2 of the NBA finals to pull out a win. The Heat once again started off well as they took an 18 to 2 lead at the beginningof the game while Oklahoma continues to struggle with slow starts. The Thunder just like in game 1 rallied but ultimately fell short after Durant missed a 7 footer on a controversial play in which Lebron may or may not have fouled him that would have tied the game with about 7 seconds left. The problem with Oklahoma City at least for this night, begins and ends with Russell Westbrook, who scored 27 points on 26 shots. Westbrook plays the ¨PG¨ position and yet he takes more shots than Kevin Durant who continues to have monster games in a very efficient way. It is not to say that Westbrook had a complete disaster of a game, he scored 18 points in the second half on 8 for 16 shooting.
         However, going 2 for 10 in the first half is a big reason why the Thunder fell behind and it makes no sense that westbrook didnt continue to feed the hot hand at the time. James Harden came out firing, making sure that his game 2 performance would be much better than his game 1, so why didnt westbrook the point guard of the team go to the hot hand? Instead his team fell in a big gap and Westbrook was decimated on national television by Magic Johnson, the greatest point guard to ever play the game. The stats show that when Westbrook shoots more than Durant the Thunder generally win, but thats because the team is better than most of the league on most nights. Yet, in the NBA finals against the other best team in the league, unless westbrook is making most of those shots at an efficient rate, the Thunder are looking at a long shot at winning the NBA championship. This series already looks like is going to be one of the best finals we´ve had in years (along with the 2010 Boston vs Lakers that went 7 games), but westbrook must be efficient if he´s going to continue to be a volume scorer. At this point of the season, we cannot expect Westbrook to change his game and be more of a traditional point guard, nor should he (they made the finals with him taking all those shots), but for Oklahoma to stop getting off to slow starts, their pg needs to follow the script of the second half of game 2, to start out game 3.

6 Fouls of the day

1. In a RARE incident involving a San Antonio Spurs player, Tony parker will be sidelined for a week after injuring his eye in the fight that broke out in New York involving Chris Brown and Drake, Parker who will play with the France national team this summer said he was with his friend Chris Brown when people started throwing punches at them
2. 2.Phil Jackson said he was not interested in coaching the New York Knicks if he had been asked nor the Orlando Magic. Jackson stated That Stoudemire of the Knicks, is a great player but that he needs to be in the right system and he just doesnt fit with Carmelo Anthony, who Jackson said needs to pass the ball more instead of just stop stopping ball movement once it reaches his hands.
3. After shooting terrible to start the playoffs, Battier has been on fire from three point range in his first two finals game, will he continue his hot streak from behind the arc? or will the Oklahoma City thunder make adjustments? either way, Battier´s shooting along with Bosh´s strong play will no doubt open up driving lanes for James and Wade, something they desperately needed during Bosh´s absence
4. Okc Coach Scott Brooks, limited Nick Collison´s minutes in game 2 and went instead with Perkins, a decision questioned by many, as collison´s intangibles were clearly missed in game 2, will Brooks once again limit him in game 3?
5. After a disappointing first two finals appearance by Lebron James against San Antonio and last year against dallas, Lebron has had 30 plus points in the first 2 games, it will be interesting to see if James will continue his strong play in the finals and maybe finally get over the hump and get his first ring
6. Spoelstra Continues to tweak and change his rotation on a game to game basis, playing Lebron James and Dwyane Wade heavy minutes, and failing to go deep into his bench, Spoelstra has changed his starting lineup numerous times during their current playoff run, and it will be interesting to see if it will continue as the finals roll on.

Heat is on D.Wade and the Heat tonight

As game 2 fast approaches in Oklahoma city, all eyes will undoubtably Be on Dwyane Wade. Wade, who before Tuesday's game 1 was averaging 30.6 ppg in the finals, has been everything but himself. Battling a knee injury which he has spoken little of, Wade has allowed teammate and league M.V.P Lebron James to carry the load. Lebron himself has said that he tries to tell Wade from time to time to take over and be that Dwyane Wade that everybody has come accustomed to seeing. Lebron James had another well rounded game with 30 points and 9 rebounds, but he didn't shoot the ball well and it wasn't enough to upset Kevin durant's huge 4th quarter and second half rally. Meanwhile Wade managed only 19 points on 19 shots, and at times seem reluctant to even take shots, twice he came down and struggled to decide whether to shoot the ball or pass it (first time he was called for a travel and second time he pump faked the shot wide open and when he finally shot it missed it). When Chris Bosh and Lebron came to Miami to join Wade, the idea was for each to no longer have to carry th burden of carrying the whole team by themselves and win championships. Whether Wade is hurt or not, he needs to be more than just A deferring superstar for the heat to stand a chance against the young and hungry Oklahoma City Thunder. If Wade needs prove of it, he just needs to look back to last year's finals when Lebron inexplicably played well below his standards and left Wade to do all the work and in the end Dallas took the championship from them in six games. Wade has said that he will look to score more in game 2 and Oklahoma expect wade to have a much bigger game, James harden is expecting a much more aggressive Dwyane Wade, and Perkins has warned everybody that Wade usually follows a bad game with an huge one. However, Miami must also expect a better game from Harden who spent much of game 1 in foul trouble. Another big storyline is how long will Eric Spoesltra allow durant to be defended by players not named Lebron James. Durant (who asked to guard the M.V.P before the game) was on fire in the fourth quarter and by the time Lebron got on him, it was, in my opinion too late for Lebron to try to cool him off. Spoelstra must also decide whether he continues to bring Bosh off the bench, at this point Bosh is ready to start and they need his production to ease Lebron and Wade's scoring burden.If Miami wishes to take the series back to South beach tied at one game apiece however, it will ultimately rely on whether Wade can shake off his struggles and deliver a vintage performance to help his M.V.P teammate and shift the momentum in Miami's favor. Otherwise the Heat will fall in a 0-2 hole that will send the Heat into a world of trouble and Wade into more questions about whether he is still an Elite player.